Friday Favorite: Gatsby

Emergency, semi-last-minute posting because I just discovered the new Great Gatsby movie's soundtrack is available for a listen on NPR. It's no secret that music plays a huge role in my day-to-day happiness and I feel VERY strongly that music can be just as important to a film as the plot itself.

These tunes are making me even MORE excited for the GG's release next weekend. You know I will be at the theatre ASAP!

Listen here, NPR presents...the Great Gatsby soundtrack!

It's About Time...

...for a post about weight loss.

I wish this post was a follow up to this piece but alas, it is not. In reality this is a "Wow, if only I'd started way back then I'd be super skinny by now" post. And I hate that.

What can I say...starting a diet right before the holidays is like...not such a good plan. Just don't say you're going to do it.

So here I am, heavier and definitely not happier than I was back in November. Time to crack the whip...on myself. THIS TIME I have established small goals to encourage me along the way. Of course they involve shopping.

10 pounds: New dress for cousin's wedding!


15 pounds: White jeans!

20 pounds: GOLD/CORK JACK ROGERS! 

Since I'm semi-poor-ish, I'm doing free weight watchers (WW without the actual membership...using the TONS of free resources online that WW vets have compiled over the years) and working out more. I think this will also be beneficial for my stress level. I definitely need something to relieve the frustration I feel, um, every day when I get home from work. I love to multitask.

So there you have it folks. Now that it's out here I guess I have to do it. And chart my progress of course...Wish me luck!

BHB Link UP

1. The Basics
Who are you: Courtney
Where do you blog: here!
How did you pick your blog’s name: I wanted a witty title that somehow incorp'd my name

2. Location, location, location
Where did you grow up: Maryland
Where do you live now: Tallahassee
Where would you live anywhere in the world: the beach! Or Georgia.

3. Let’s talk beauty - what is your favorite or signature:
Lipstick: Let's be real...I don't own lipstick. More of a gloss girl.
Mascara: Ye Olde Great Lash
Perfume: Juicy Couture

4. Yummies - what is your favorite:
Cocktail: BOUR-BON.
Dessert: Chocolate anything
Pizza Topping(s): Pepperoni and spinach

5. I always have these three things in my refrigerator:
Un: Butter
Deux: Eggs
Trois: Sweet tea

6. Get artsy - what is your favorite:
Movie: Gone with the Wind
Book: the Great Gatsby
TV Show: Friday Night Lights

7. Kid stuffs - three questions about your youth:
What did you want to Be when you grew up? a Teacher
Who was your favorite teacher and why? SO many  because I wanted to be just like them. What was your worst sickness/surgery/hospital visit as a kid? Didn't really have any, but let's say ANY time I had the stomach flu?

8. The Pretty Things - what is your:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite flower: Tulips
Favorite artist (painter, photographer, etc.): I'm not an art buff

9. Shop ‘Til You Drop
What’s one thing you buy the most often: Dresses
Do you prefer to shop online or in-store? A little of both
Imagine you open your own store - what would you sell? ALL THE MONOGRAMS

10. Be a Hater: what are three things you would like to go away?
Ein: The fat around my stomach
Zwei: Cancer
Drei: Pollen

11. The Final Three (x Three)
I hand you a genie - what are your three wishes? To not have allergies, to travel to London, and to find a good man.
List 3 things you can see out of your window right now. Sybill, the office mourning dove, a circus tent, and a baseball stadium.
Who are three people, living or dead, you would invite over for dinner? Paul McCartney, and my mom's parents.

Birthday Princess

Today is my birthday!

In honor of this most special occasion, I've decided to share 23 facts about myself...one for each year that I've been awesome.

1. Birthdays are my FAVORITE.

2. My favorite TV show is Friday Night Lights (just finished...cried all the way through)

3. I'm a bit of a germophobe but my apartment is a disaster 93% of the time.

4. I'm more than slightly obsessed with my dog, Pippa Middleton.

5. I love to go to movies alone.

6. I believe a good haircut can change everything.

7. My idea of a perfect day would be a trip to the beach followed by a margamexicoma (ahem, margaritas and mexican food until I pop).

8. I love Jesus.

9. I've never eaten at Taco Bell.

10. My left foot is a half size smaller than my right.

11. I love dresses but cannot walk in heels to save my life.

12. Half of my wardrobe includes stripes of some kind.

13. I have a really bad memory for important things (like um, childhood memories) but I can remember song lyrics and movie quotes like a boss.

14. If I could have any job in the world I would be an author or a book editor.

15. I love to be outside (on nice days, obviously)

16. I have a MAJOR sweet tooth

17. I'm a total nerd and love all things historical

18. I hate marshmallows.

19. I'm a big believer in signs.

20. London is #1 on my list of places I want to visit.

21. I will monogram just about anything.

22. I'm a very picky eater.

23. I'm trying to become a more consistent blogger...I promise!

Happy Birthday to all my fellow April 8th babies (Including Tim Riggins)

 

 

 

Yum.

 

Weekend Misadventures

(Was going to post this on Monday, having finished it Sunday morning, but Sunday night an even FUNNIER thing happened that warranted a re-write). 

After a month of travel/family visits I decided I would dedicate this weekend to my couch and DVD player. My only real plan was to find a place to get a good hair cut...my hair is in an awkward zone of growing out and if you know me at all you know I am scissor-happy. I made an appointment on Tuesday and spent the next 4 days convincing myself I wouldn't end up with a dreadful pixie or otherwise tragic style. In the middle of this, my car started acting strange. Each morning it would struggle to start and I had a bad feeling the battery's end was near. I prayed and prayed that it would last I tell Friday, as we had a huge event Friday morning at work that I might as well be fired for missing. The big man was looking out for me when after a close call, the car finally fired up Friday morning and again when I was ready to head home. Unforch the same could not be said for Saturday morning...when I left for my hair appointment the juice was gone. Luckily we have AAA and a kindly old man came out to my apartment, after which Holly Honda and I cruised down to Auto Zone for a new battery. I had to cancel my hair appointment and, unable to reschedule, opted for some non-auto parts retail therapy instead. We had a very rainy weekend so I did manage to stick to my couch/movie schedule following the morning's events (Also squeezed in a major closet/dresser overhaul...organization FTW.

After all of this went down, my Internet bit the dust once again. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, this is the fourth time in 2 months that this has happened. I WISH I COULD QUIT YOU, COMCAST. While I was literally laying on the floor looking at the ceiling, waiting not-patiently to be connected to a "customer service representative" I noticed something unpleasant happening. Yep...all of that rain we had this weekend decided to make it's way into the roof of my building. Thankfully nothing was actively leaking, but the ceiling was damp and soft, with a 5 inch long crack running across one side and another one forming. I called the emergency maintenance staff and someone came out to check it, only to determine that it wasn't *quite* an emergency since it had since stopped raining (don't shoot the messenger, dude), and that they could work on it the next day. Spoiler alert: They still haven't fixed it. But, DON'T WORRY GUYS, Don the maintenance man says it's "no big deal" so there you have it.

Nashvegas*

(*Sorry, Mom)

Well, long story short I wrote a bunch of fabulous posts about my trip/return home/playing catchup and Blogger decided to delete them.

SO.

I'm kind of over talking about my trip now/posting pictures of it so I'm just going to move on to my favorite topic...TELEVISION!

 

While I was on the road, I had a funky schedule that wouldn't allow me to watch my beloved prime time shows, so ever since I've been trying to get back on track (I know that's a sad white girl/first world thing to say but I *do* feel blessed that this is a silly problem I get to have). One of my favorite shows (probs blogged about before) is Nashville. It's no surprise that I'm obsessed with a show that's all about music (and not in a Glee way, thankfully). This show does such an amazing job of bringing LEGIT music to the masses, even if you think you don't like country music. My favorite artists on the show are Scarlett and Gunnar, a Civil Wars-esque (WAHHHHH CIVIL WARS BREAKUP WAHHHH) duo.

 

 

 

And HOW could I do a post about Nashville without mentioning my beloved Tami Taylor/Rayna James/Connie Britton/Country Queen Shinylocks.



Tales from the Road

Greetings from Day 8 of travel!

One week from today I'll be reunited with Pippa Middleton and more importantly, my own bed. Until then, I give you Part One of "Lessons From the Road"

1. South Florida is EVERYTHING everyone says that it is. It's loud. It's chaotic. And apparently to live here you have to either be a NASCAR driver or have failed your learner's permit test because NO ONE knows how to drive.

2. One can only eat so many turkey sandwiches from a sub ring in the school media center before One cracks and considers becoming a vegetarian.

3. Ironing? I'm sorry, that's what Downy Wrinkle Release spray is for.

4. When you're feeling low, find the nearest Target and/or Marshall's and/or TJ Maxx.

5. Bring a book. There's a lot of waiting around.

6. The GPS lies. All the time.

7. If you lock your car while pumping gas but leave the window rolled down and then unlock the car door by reaching inside the window, the alarm WILL go off, everyone at the gas station WILL glare at you, and your face will turn the shade of a sop sign. And it'll take you approximately 5 minutes to get the alarm to turn off.

8. Eat when you can. Even if it means your meal is the first non-breakfast item Chickfila serves at 10:30 AM.

9. Sleep when you can. Even if it means grabbing a "napportunity" in your car in the Publix parking lot.

10. Enjoy it! You'll be back in the office pushing paper soon enough, my friends.